The Boston Bruins have allowed 16 goals in their first three games. A few years ago, it would take their opponents nearly an entire month to put that many goals up against the Black and Gold. The last time the B’s were this careless was the 1965-66 NHL season. That time around, it took a player the caliber of Bobby Orr to turn things around in Boston. Hopefully, history will not have to repeat itself here.
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The Bruins are heading out to Colorado (currently home of former goaltender Tim Thomas) to play their first away game against the Avalanche. While the Bruins could seriously use a win to boost the morale of the team and the fans, they know that they will find their stride in the next few games. The B’s are hoping for a win, and they should be able to get at least one on their first road trip.
“There are no quick fixes in this league, but I think we’ve shown some good signs in the last few games,” said Bruins forward Brad Marchand. Boston’s Little Ball of Hate is traveling with the team, and may be healthy enough to take part in tomorrow night’s game. “Even though we haven’t won yet, there’s still a lot of things we can build off of…especially with being back. Having him in the lineup is big, and I thought we came out really strong in the last game, and showed some really good signs.
“We still have a lot of learn and a lot to build on. I still think we’re going to be a good team, and just because of three games it’s not going to tell our season. We’re not worried. You want to stay composed. It’s just three games into the year. There have been much worse starts than this and teams have still had good seasons. We’re not in the best situation right now, but there’s a long season ahead of us. We’ll improve. We have a lot of young guys and new guys, so the only way for us to go is up right now.”
Puck Prose
There are good reasons why Marchand is optimistic.
Zdeno Chara‘s return did help the Bruins on the ice. While there were still serious defensive breakdowns, the B’s captain did help mitigate them when he was on the ice. Torey Krug is still performing at the level the Bruins have asked of him. Perhaps if they put Colin Miller with Chara, the Bruins might have a more serious top defensive pair.
Marchand returning would give the Bruins back their top two offensive lines. The lines centered by Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci have been a staple for the Bruins these last few years, and should be able to put up a few more goals during their road trip. Loui Eriksson is finding his scoring stride, and that’s another good sign things are starting to look up.
Zac Rinaldo is coming into his own as a legitimate pest. Rinaldo’s game has seriously improved and he is finding a way to draw penalties for the B’s. While some of the Bruins offseason selections have under performed so far, Rinaldo hasn’t done anything to hurt the Bruins so far. (That puts him above at least half the roster at the moment.)
The Bruins can win games if they stick to what has worked for them in the past. Hopefully, Claude Julien and company will remember that as they head out west.